Dead Or Alive
by SanoGirl
Summary: One-shot songfic. Saito's dreams are becomming more and more real. Will he find what he is searching for?


Dead or Alive 

  
  
_Across the mirror,   
stands a self I do not know.   
Like a fierce storm blowing. _  
  
Running...he couldn't stop. The pounding of his feet...the thrill of the chase. The cool night air rushed by his chiseled face in a whirling summer night's song. This was what he lived for, the hunt, the feeling of power and complete domination as the prey trembled in fear. The Wolf of Mibu quickened his pace and an almost fanged grin split his lean face. Golden eyes glowing in the midnight dark, he silently unsheathed his sword and ran even faster, seeming to outmatch even the wind itself. The drumming of feet in front of him was slowing down rapidly. A mocking glint in his liquid eyes, The Wolf slowed also and crept forward on cat-like feet. Ragged breathing reached his ears, the uneven pants of a cornered animal. His time had come. The hunt was at a close, but adrenaline still pounded in his racing veins. Running his tongue over thin lips, he could taste the night, the salty wetness of sweat, and the musky gloom of shadows. Still creeping forward, he was fast approaching the darkened alleyway in front of him. The pounding of his heart now filled his ears and blocked out any other sounds the summer might throw at him. His sword ached for blood as his body ached for the kill. He reached out with one white-gloved hand into the shadows and...   
  
Saito Hajime sat straight up in bed, the blanket falling down to reveal a heaving chest and a sweat-soaked undershirt.   
  
_What forces itself up,   
is a sense of an endless battle.   
The blood in my veins seethes. _  
  
The dream, dammit. It had happened again. And yet, every time it seemed real, so real in fact that Saito thought it was actually happening every single time. He reached up with one hand and brushed his sweat-soaked bangs off his forehead. Breathing deeply he leaned back on his elbows and sighed. Closing his amber eyes, he continued the slow breathing pattern. One...two...one...two...in...out...in...out. Calmed a little now, he wondered for what must have been the millionth time what it was he was trying to catch. What could be giving him such a thrill? He hadn't experienced the joy of the hunt in years, ever since the Shinsengumi disbanded and the Wolf of Mibu was reduced to a policeman. No one understood the ways of the sword anymore; no one understood the hunt anymore either. The world had stooped to a bunch of sniveling, cowering pigs who hid behind their daft armies and feeble promises.   
  
_Even I can't stop it anymore.   
Dead or Alive _  
  
Reaching for the cigarettes and matches he always kept close to the futon, the ex-Shinsengumi member felt a lingering sense of exhilaration and a slight taste of musky summer air on his tongue. The feelings he experienced in his dreams were often so intense that he still felt them when fully awake. It was almost as if his body was acting on instinct...an instinct he had thought buried forevermore. His veins throbbed and his heart continued to pound in his ears. He was being overwhelmed by a dream of the past.   
  
_Nothing Gonna Believe.   
I'd like to believe,   
there is also love that I feel,   
but in the dry winds,   
I'm busting absolutely zero dreams. _  
  
On impulse, he rose from the damp, sweat-stained futon and grabbed his sword from its place leaning against the wall. He slung on his dark blue policeman's jacket, but didn't bother taking the time to button it. Stepping into his shoes, he strode out the door and into the perfumed summer night. The heavy, lingering smells of flowers and grass made the air sickly sweet with its scent. Breathing deeply, Saito strolled forward, tucking his sword sheath into his belt and slipping his sword into it with a crisp snap.   
  
It was a night of dead dreams and forgotten promises. The air, made heavy by the sweetness, pressed against his jacketed form and clogged his nostrils, forcing him to breathe the damp air through his mouth. He could taste the moisture in the air and soon the inside of his mouth was painted with the musk of a summer's night. Broken shards of old commitments, long forgotten danced in the shadows beneath the trees and wisps of aged love swirled against the stars.   
  
_At the life that surpassed the night,   
I stare...   
What gleams in my eyes is a pretty lullaby. _  
  
He paused, stopping under a tree and lolling in the shadows. Anyone that passed would have only seen the glowing end of his cigarette, for the Wolf of Mibu knew all too well how to stay out of sight and keep his presence cloaked. He took a long drag and breathed out a cloud of smoke, wisps of it trailing up to wrap around his head.   
  
Time seemed to stand still that night, and the world slowed to a stop around him. His over-developed senses picked up the slight change in the auras around him and instantly he was on alert, grinding out the stub of his cigarette beneath his heel. His left hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword and his feet shifted into a ready stance. Someone was nearby...someone...almost...familiar. Where had he felt this before...   
  
It hit him like a train. The dream! This was the same person he was chasing in the dream. But this time, Saito knew he was awake and his mouth curled in a sneer. Tonight his prey would meet its end at the hands of Mibu's Wolf!   
  
_The one calling out to me,   
Is the mere unstained soul.   
I'm only gonna beat you. _  
  
Drawing his sword slowly, he crept forward on silent feet, a spring in his step that had been missing for years. His blood pounded in his veins and roared in his ears just as it had in his dream. But this was the real thing and just knowing that added to Saito's speed. He raced forward, ever silent and cackled mentally when his prey sped up also. His feet flew, barely seeming to touch the ground and his sword was held steady before him.   
  
The air sped by him and he squinted his watering eyes slightly against it. His accuracy must not be deterred and his speed must not slack. This night almost perfectly mirrored his dream and he wanted to finally be able to see what it was he was chasing. He sneered his almost-fanged grin again and tensed his muscles. The chase was calling him and he strained towards it; every muscle in his body screamed bloodlust.   
  
_In my roused hot heart,   
There are no surprises...   
Yes or No! _  
  
His heart pounded ever faster as his feet flew along the ground, the blood flowing ever swifter and ever hotter. A scent of fear and exhaustion wafted from in front of him, mixed in with the summer smells. His prey was tiring. Their chase moved to the paved area of a cobblestone road and he could hear clumsy footsteps and uneven breathing. His shoed feet made a soft tapping noise, a regular tapping rhythm that matched his soaring heartbeat.   
  
_Nothin' Gonna Be Free!   
It keeps repeating,   
There are also smiles I want to embrace but,   
I continue to run and search.   
For the absolutely hundred times sure epilogue. _  
  
His prey turned down a dark alley and the pounding footfalls stopped and he caught the soft sound of a body hitting the wall. His eyes gleamed and his muscles spasmed. This was where he always awoke, where he never found out what it was he was chasing.   
  
A shard of nervousness wormed its way into his excitement and exhilaration and he came to a stop several feet from the end of the alleyway. He could hear his heartbeat pounding out his life's rhythm in his ears and he was sure his prey could hear it to. His sword caught a stray beam of starlight and glinted briefly before plunging the ally back into darkness. Saito stepped forward, agonizingly slow, his steps soft and graceful. Nothing ever escaped the Wolf of Mibu and this would be no exception.   
  
Trembling, his right hand reached out into the shadows of the alley, aimed at where he knew his prey would be...   
  
_Nothin' Gonna Believe!   
I'd like to believe,   
There is also the love I feel but,   
In the dry winds,   
I'm busting absolutely zero dreams... _  
  
…and grabbed nothing but a handful of sweet summer air.


End file.
